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Independent People
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 839.6934
EAN: 9780679767923
Edition: 1st Vintage International Ed
ISBN: 0679767924
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: January 14, 1997
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: January 14, 1997
Studio: Vintage
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The flower of my life.
I don't even want to call this a "book". It's something different. It doesn't only tell you something or show you something it GIVES you something; something that nothing else can give you and that no one can take away from you.
Laxness does what every author wishes he or she could do. He does it more beautifully, with more gentleness and sternness and joy, fear and trembling. All the while he has evaporated into every rotted wooden picket and dark rock scattered in the fields of Iceland. ... Read More
Rating: - Don't read the introduction
One of my favorite books ever. I'm writing just to warn readers not to read the tremendously idiotic introduction. The guy gives away the plot to the book. The "smart" people at Vintage evidently don't know the difference between an introduction and an afterword. They should be shot (at the very least).
Rating:  - I thought my grandfather was stubborn.
Even Iceland had its problems with ignorance and fear of progress. No knowledge of Iceland, except that it is an isolated northern island, is necessary to appreciate this marvelous story. It's a book about people more than place. Having read it, I do want to learn more about Iceland, though.
The main character is very unlikable. His single-mindedness is what drives the entire book. His treatment of other people, including his family, compared with his treatment of his sheep is the critical ... Read More
Rating: - MY FAVORITE BOOK, EVER. HAUNTING CHARACTERS. HAUNTING EVERYTHING.
Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Halldor Laxness won the 1955 Nobel Prize with this one. It's the story of Bjartur, an indentured servant who purchased his freedom with 18 years of hard work. Bjartur sets out to be truly independent by owning his own farm-- which happens to be cursed. This saga dissects the Icelandic social system, Bjartur's psyche (& those of all other characters), & illustrates the effects of war and greed on both. E. Annie Proulx, Jane Smiley ... Read More
Rating: - Sheep and Poetry
Brad Leithauser, in his well-penned Introduction to my copy of this novel, writes that when asked what his favourite book (this one) is about, he replies, "Sheep." - Very droll, but also accurate to a surprising degree - Leithauser, of course, goes on to expand in the Introduction. The reviewers here have done an excellent job of mapping the novel out and covering its themes, so that there seems little for me to add. I will say that this book is unlike anything else you'll ever read, save for the concluding ... Read More
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